Door straightening system and methods of using same

ABSTRACT

A door straightening system for straightening doors includes elongated tension members that extend substantially from a top portion to a bottom portion of the door. The tension members are mechanically strained using an adjustment mechanism that may take the form of threaded components, which when rotated create tension in the tension members sufficient to move the interior and exterior surfaces of the door. The door straightening system may be located in a stile of the door generally within a machined channel or an insert. The door straightening system includes reaction plates that provide the load path between the tension members and the door. In one embodiment, an upper reaction plate is configured to have a desired angle to minimize stress and increase the efficiency of the door straightening system.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a door straightening system, andspecifically relates to a door straightening system usable to straightenat least a portion of a door before and after the door is pre-hung in adoor jam.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Exterior doors are often used as an architectural feature in a home,business, or other building. In many applications, architects requestwooden exterior doors to impart a high quality, sophisticated appearanceto a structure. Wood doors, for example, can be stained to use thenatural wood grain in the exterior design of a structure. The exteriordoors can also be located in different areas of a home, for examplefront entry doors, patio doors, or side garage doors.

Exterior doors are typically made from fiberglass, wood, or othercomposite materials, but have been known to warp due to a variety offactors. Such warping typically occurs in the stile of a door, but mayalso occur in other regions of the door.

Many of the factors that cause exterior doors to warp are outside of thecontrol of the manufacturer. If the warping becomes substantial then thedoor may be considered to have failed in that it does not perform itsintended function or at least does not perform its intended function ata desired level of operability. Some common reasons for failure due towarping are climate changes; improper finishing and/or sealing; and poorinstallation. When the door warps, the end-user will typically call themanufacturer, distributor or pre-hang shop (i.e., the shop where thedoor was assembled with a door jamb and related hardware) to initiate awarranty claim. Door failures may directly impact the manufacturer andresult in warranty, replacement and repair costs that may add up tomillions of dollars annually. The overall cost associated with just onewarranty claim may be quite high and impacts many different layers inthe industry from the manufacture, the installer to the end-user.

With respect to climate changes, exterior doors may be manufactured inone geographic region and then shipped to and installed in anothergeographic region where the two regions may have extremely differentclimates, which may include drastically different humidity levels.Further, the climates and humidity levels of the regions may changedepending the time of year.

Generally, exterior doors are designed to remain operable within certainranges of internal moisture content. However, the moisture content maychange based on the door's geographic location and sometimes may changerapidly during shipping. For example, an exterior door produced inDenver, Colo., a region with low humidity, is shipped to a distributioncenter in Hawaii, a region with higher humidity. When the door ismanufactured in Colorado it has a low moisture content, but eitherduring shipping or upon arriving in Hawaii the door absorbs moisture,which in turn may cause the stiles, rails and possibly other componentsto expand (or contract if the conditions were reversed). This expansionor contraction, if substantial enough, may cause detrimental warping inthe door and result in failure.

Aside from humidity changes, doors, especially exterior doors, may beexposed to cyclic temperature differences across an interior to anexterior surface of the door. For example, in the winter months in coldclimates homes are substantially warmer on the interior resulting in alarge temperature differential between the interior and exteriorsurfaces of the door. The temperature changes over time may cause thedoor to expand and contract and then eventually warp, even to the pointof failure, which in turn may generate a warranty claim and a loss forthe manufacturer.

Another issue for exterior doors is an amount of coverage or overhangthat helps prevent exposure from rain or direct sun, which again mayeventually cause undesired warping. Rain (i.e., moisture) contacting oraround the exterior door may result in moisture being drawn into thedoor, primarily through capillary action, and in turn cause swelling orexpansion. In general, wood doors are more prone to water absorptionthan doors made from fiber-reinforced composite materials such asfiberglass or other non-wood products. The exterior door, withoutsufficient protection from the ultraviolet sunlight, may experience agreater amount of cyclic expansion and contraction at an undesiredfrequency or rate. Exterior doors do not typically come pre-finishedfrom the manufacturer, which means the doors are typically finished bythe end-user or installer (e.g., home builder). During finishing, theexterior doors are generally sealed to prevent moisture ingression orabsorption. However, improperly sealed doors may permit an undesiredamount of moisture penetration through mortises (machining locations),the stiles, the rails (typically the bottom rail), and other locationsto include intersecting areas between the stiles and rails.

Exterior doors that are painted or pre-finished with a dark color (e.g.,black, navy blue, red, dark green, etc.) and then exposed to thesunlight have been known to experience higher warping rates and moresevere warping. Typically, the end result of any of the above-discussedclimate related issues, which may occur individually or in somecombination, is a manufacturer that must financially account forwarranty claims, possible lost sales to a competing product, and unhappycustomers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a door straightening system forstraightening doors to minimize the potential of warping and to allowadjustments to be made if warping should occur. The door straighteningsystem includes elongated tensioning members that are located in achannel, which may take the form of a mortise formed in the door or maybe a separate body placed within a hollow door. The system includes anadjustment assembly with cooperating threaded members that operate torotate the tensioning members in a clockwise (CW) or counter-clockwise(CCW) direction.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a straightening systemfor a door includes a tensioning member located within the door; anupper reaction plate positioned proximate a top portion of the door andseated at a desired angle relative to a horizontal surface of the door;an adjustment mechanism having a body with a threaded portion and a headwith a tool receiving portion, the adjustment mechanism rotatable withrespect to the reaction plate to rotate the tensioning member; and anintermediate coupling member having a threaded portion threadablyengaged with the threaded portion of the adjustment mechanism andcoupled to the tensioning member.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method ofstraightening a door using a door straightening system includes thesteps of (1) rotating a first adjustment mechanism in a first rotationaldirection to change an amount of tension in a first tension member; and(2) while rotating, displacing a portion of the door to correct anamount of warping and sufficiently straighten the door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention aredescribed in detail below with reference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1A is an isometric view of a door having a door straighteningsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is an isometric, exploded view of a door having channelsconfigured to receive a door straightening system according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the door straightening system ofFIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a close-up cross-sectional view showing an upper portion ofthe door straightening system of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an adjustment assembly for straighteninga door according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective, exploded view of the threaded components of theadjustment assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an upper reaction plate of theadjustment assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the upper reaction plate takenalong line 5B-5B in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a bottom reaction plate of theadjustment assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the bottom reaction plate of FIG. 6attached to a stile of a door or insert and attached to tensioningmembers of the adjustment assembly according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an insert for receiving an adjustmentassembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the insert of FIG. 8 showing theadjustment assembly received therein according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a method of straightening a warpeddoor according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is side elevational view of a door having two door straighteningsystems installed therein according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As will be described in further detail below, at least one embodiment ofthe invention includes a door straightening system for straighteningdoors to minimize the potential of warping and to allow adjustments tobe made to doors if warping should occur during manufacture, shipping,installation, after installation or some other time.

FIG. 1A shows a door 100 having a door straightening system 102 locatedwithin the door and extending vertically from a top portion 104 to abottom portion 106 of the door. The door 100 may include stiles 108 andrails 110, and optionally may include a glazing 112. The glazing 112 isan industry term that refers to a glass or decorative insert. Themanufacture and construction of the door 100 are generally known in theart, such as the manufacture and construction described in U.S. PatentPublication No. 2006/0053744, which is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety. In the illustrated embodiment the door is a right-handopening door because the handle 114 is located on the right-hand side ofthe door 100. However, it is appreciated that the door 100 could be aleft-side opening door or may not have a handle at all such as one ofthe doors comprising a pair of French doors.

The door straightening system 102 is shown in hidden line format togenerally indicate its location within the door 100. Preferably, thedoor straightening system 102 is located between the handle 114 and aproximate edge surface 116 of the door 100, which happens to be theright-side surface in the illustrated embodiment. In addition, the doorstraightening system 102 may be located in an insert, channel or mortiseformed in the door 100.

For wood doors, which generally have solid wood stiles 108; althoughsome may have composite stiles, the stile 108 operates as the housing toreceive much of the door straightening system 102. The stile 108, duringmanufacturing or during retrofitting, may be machined to create mortisesor channels 109 that are sized to receive respective portions of thedoor straightening system 102 as best seen in FIG. 1B.

For non-wood doors, such as fiberglass exterior doors, much of thestraightening system 102 may be housed in an insert 200 (FIGS. 8 and 9).In turn, the insert 200 may be pre-machined to receive the hardware forthe door straightening system 102. One purpose of the insert is to keepthe hardware in place throughout the manufacturing process and toprovide the stability and reinforcement needed to utilize the doorstraightening system 102 in the non-wood door.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the door 100 and the door straightening system 102,which includes elongated tension members 118 and an adjustment assembly120. Upper and lower reaction plates 122, 124 are coupled to the door100 and operate to retain the tension members 118 and adjustmentassembly 120 within the door 100. The upper and lower reactions plates122, 124 also provide the structural load path between the doorstraightening system 102 and the door 100 and operate to convert tensionwithin the tensioning members 118 to movement of the door 100 to correctwarping. The tensioning members 118 extend vertically from the upperreaction plate 122 to the lower reaction plate 124 and include anarcuate shape so they are offset 126 from the deadbolt latch bore 128and from the latch bore 130. The tension members 118 may take the formof straps or rods and may be made from a variety of materials, such asbut not limited to steel, aluminum, titanium, fiber-reinforcedcomposites, etc.

FIG. 2B shows the portion of the door 100 and door straightening system102 located above the deadbolt latch bore 128. The adjustment assembly120 includes a pair of adjustment mechanisms 132 each having a body 134and a head 136. The adjustment assembly 120 further includes a pair ofintermediate coupling members 138 that cooperate with the adjustmentmechanisms 132 to rotate the tension members 118.

FIG. 3 shows a selected portion of the adjustment assembly 120 forpurposes of clarity and brevity. The body 134 of the adjustmentmechanism 132 includes a threaded portion 142 and the head 136 includesa tool receiving portion 144, which may take the form of a slot orrecess configured to receive a screw driver, an allen wrench or someother tool. The head 136 is configured to be received in a recess 146located in the upper reaction plate 122. The adjustment mechanisms 132are rotatable with respect to the upper reaction plate 122 to rotate thetensioning member 118. The net effect of such a rotation on the door 100will be described in detail below.

The intermediate coupling member 138 includes an attachment portion 148and a threaded portion 150. The tension member 118 is coupled to theattachment portion 148 using a mechanical connection 140 sufficient totransfer tension load between the intermediate coupling member 138 andthe tension member 118. The mechanical connection 140 may take the formof, but is not limited to, fasteners, bonding, or welding (e.g., spotwelding). The threaded portion 150 is configured to threadably engagethe threaded portion 142 of the adjustment mechanism 132. Thus, rotationof the adjustment mechanism 132 via the head 136 causes the intermediatecoupling member 138 to move upward or downward relative to theadjustment mechanism 132. In turn, this increases (tightening) ordecreases (loosening) the tension in the tension member 118. Themechanical strain within the tension member 118 is brought into staticequilibrium with the door 100 through movement of the door 100, which ishow a warping condition of the door 100 may be corrected. By way ofexample, two full turns of the head 136 in a clockwise direction may besufficient to correct a minor warping condition. Briefly referring toFIG. 4 and depending on the type of door and an amount of anticipatedwarping, a length 152 of the body 134 of the adjustment mechanism 132and a length 154 of the threaded portion 150 of the intermediatecoupling member 138 may be lengthened or shortened. In addition, thethreads may be fine or course threads with a selected thread pitchdepending on an amount of tension applied relative to one full rotationof the head 136.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the upper reaction plate 122. In one embodiment,the upper reaction plate 122 is a unitary component with a front portion122 a and a rear portion 122 b while in another embodiment the upperreaction plate 122 is actually two plates, 122 a (front) and 122 b(rear), abutted together along an interface 156. In either embodiment,the upper reaction plate 122 is positioned within a recess or pocketmachined in a top portion 104 (FIG. 1) of the door 100 (FIG. 1). Forpurposes of brevity, the upper reaction plate henceforth will beconsidered a unitary component. Thus, referring to FIG. 5B, the forwardportion 122 a and the rear portion 122 b are angled with respect to ahorizontal 158. The front portion 122 a may be configured at an angle160 relative to the horizontal 158 while the rear portion 122 b may beconfigured at an angle 162 relative to the horizontal 158. The angles160 and 162 may be identical or different, but in most cases it isunderstood the angles 160 and 162 will be the same. One purpose of theangles 160 and 162 is to cooperate with the arcuate shaped tensionmembers 118 and thus reduce the torsional and bending stresses in theadjustment assembly 120. Another purpose of the angles 160 and 162 is tomaintain the adjustment mechanisms 132 (FIG. 2B) (e.g., interior andexterior, respectively) closer together. In one embodiment, the angles160 and 162 are each in a range of about 0-30 degrees. In a preferredembodiment, the angles 160 and 162 are each approximately three degreesrelative to the horizontal 158. As discussed above, the upper reactionplate 122 includes the recess 146 to receive the head 136 of theadjustment mechanism 132 and an opening 164 to receive the body 134 ofthe adjustment mechanism 132.

FIG. 6 shows the lower reaction plate 124 having an opening 166 forreceiving the tension members 118. The lower reaction plate 124 may bemounted to the rail 110 (FIG. 1), the stile 108 (FIG. 1) or the insert200 (FIG. 8).

FIG. 7 shows the lower reaction plate 124 coupled to the stile 108. Thetension members 118 are coupled to the lower reaction plate 124 viawelding, fastening, bonding or some other mechanical connection 168. Inthe illustrated embodiment, lower portions 169 of the tension members118 may be bent over and coupled to a lower surface 174 of the lowerreaction plate 124. The tension members 118 are located in a channel 170formed in the door 100 (FIG. 1) and then received in the slot 166 (FIG.6). In the illustrated embodiment, the lower reaction plate 124 isreceived in a recess 172 formed in the stile 108 such that the lowersurface 174 of the plate 124 is offset by a desired distance 171 from alower surface 176 of the stile 108. The reason for locating the plate124 at the desired distance 171 relative to the lower surface 176 of thestile 108 is to permit trimming of the bottom portion of the door 100.Alternatively, the plate 124 could abut the lower surface 176 of thestile 108 or placed in a recess closer to or adjacent the lower surface176 of the stile 108. Although the stile 108 has been described hereinas the mating attachment member for the plate 124, it is appreciatedthat the rail 110 (FIG. 1) or the insert 200 (FIG. 8) may also makesuitable attachment members for the plate 124.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the insert 200, which is generally employed innon-wood doors and which is configured to receive a door straighteningsystem 202 (FIG. 9). Non-wood doors, such as fiberglass, steel,reinforced fiber composite, plastic, etc., generally include an exteriorfacing skin or panel (e.g., faces toward an ambient environment) and aninterior facing skin or panel (e.g., faces toward an interiorenvironment). The non-wood door may further include a top insert, abottom insert, side or edge inserts, a lock block, and glazing. Afterthe non-wood door is assembled, it is typically injected with foamthrough one or more access ports located in a bottom portion of thedoor. The foam cures and provides increased stability to the non-wooddoor.

The insert 200 may take the form of an elongated, rectangular shapedbody 204 having a width 206 that is equal to or approximately equal to athickness of a door 208. Side surfaces 210 of the insert 200 may bebonded or otherwise fastened to interior surfaces 212 of door panels214, which may take the from of an interior facing panel 214 a (e.g.,facing toward an interior region of a structure) and an exterior facingpanel 214 b (e.g., facing toward an exterior region of the structureand/or toward an ambient environment). The insert 200 may be made from avariety of materials such as plastic, metal, or composite materials.When an insert 200 is employed in a non-wood door, the configuration andstiffness of the insert 200 may be selected to increase the stability ofthe door and help prevent at least some amount of initial warping. Thedoor straightening system 202 may take the form of the doorstraightening system 102 described above.

Referring back to FIG. 2A and FIG. 9, the straightening systems may beused with a variety of exterior doors, such as wood, fiberglass,composite and other types of doors. As such, there are different methodsfor placing the straightening systems into the door as discussed above.When using the straightening system in a wood door, the majority of thecomponents are located in a channel or mortise machined in the stile ofthe door. When using the straightening system in a fiberglass orcomposite door, the majority of the components are located within theinsert.

After the door has been assembled with the straightening system, aninitial amount of tension may be applied to the tensioning members byrotating the head of one or both of the adjustment mechanisms with atool (see FIG. 3). Advantageously, this type of initial tensioning mayhelp reduce an amount of warping that some doors may experience.

FIG. 10 schematically shows a method of adjusting a door, whether thedoor is a wood or non-wood door. In the illustrated embodiment, a door300 includes a straightening system 302 installed therein and the door300 has warped toward an interior region 304 of a structure. Correctingthe warping may be accomplished regardless of whether the door has beeninstalled into a home or building or remains in an uninstalled state.Once it has been determined that the door 300 has warped toward theinterior region 304, which is most common, then by way of example anexterior adjustment mechanism 306 may be rotated in a tightening mannerto increase an amount of tension in an exterior tension member 308. Thetension is reacted at least by the exterior, upper and lower reactionplates 310, 312, and generates a net force vector 313 causing movementof both interior and exterior facing panels 314, 328 of the door 300.The amount of movement may be controlled to substantially reduce oreliminate the warping. The exterior facing panel 314 faces an exteriorregion 316 while the interior facing panel 328 faces the interior region304. In an alternate embodiment, the tensioning members 308, 320 maycrisscross such that the above described warping correction would beaccomplished by adjusting the interior adjustment mechanism 318.

Optionally, an interior adjustment mechanism 318 may becontemporaneously rotated in a loosening manner to decrease the amountof tension in an interior tension member 320 and in turn relieve thestress associated with an interior facing door panel 322, if necessary.

Alternatively, if the door is warping toward the exterior region 316then the interior adjustment mechanism 318 may be rotated in atightening manner to increase the amount of tension in the interiortension member 320. Similarly, the tension is reacted at least by theinterior, upper and lower reaction plates 324, 326, and generates a netforce vector (not shown) in approximately an opposite direction of forcevector 313 causing movement of both the interior and exterior facingpanels 314, 328 of the door 300. Optionally, the exterior adjustmentmechanism 306 may be contemporaneously rotated in a loosening manner todecrease the amount of tension in the exterior tension member 308, ifnecessary.

The increasing or decreasing of the tension in the tension members maybe accomplished through small rotations of the adjustment mechanism, forexample one-quarter turn rotations. In one embodiment, the heads of theinterior and exterior adjustment mechanisms may be marked with indicesor markings indicating in selected circumferential increments, forexample increments of one-quarter turns. To permit the door to reach astatic equilibrium after one incremental adjustment, it may beadvantageous to refrain from subsequent adjustments until the door hasbeen allowed to set for at least a brief time, for example one to fiveminutes. During this period or near the end of this period, it mayfurther be advantageous to check the straightness of the door with alevel, a straight edge or some other equivalent tool.

FIG. 11 shows a door 400 having a left-hand door straightening system402 a and a right-hand door straightening system 402 b each installed inthe door 400. One reason for installing two systems 402 a, 402 b isbecause some manufactures do not distinguish between left and right handdoors, thus how the door will be installed may not be known until justprior to installation. In such a situation, the door 400 could includethe two straightening systems 402 a, 402 b even though one of them willend up on a hinge side of the door 400.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, as noted above, many changes can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope ofthe invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferredembodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined by reference tothe claims that follow.

1. A straightening system for a door comprising: a tensioning memberlocated within the door; an upper reaction plate positioned proximate atop portion of the door and seated at a desired angle relative to ahorizontal surface of the door; an adjustment mechanism having a bodywith a threaded portion and a head with a tool receiving portion, theadjustment mechanism rotatable with respect to the reaction plate torotate the tensioning member; and an intermediate coupling member havinga threaded portion threadably engaged with the threaded portion of theadjustment mechanism and coupled to the tensioning member.
 2. Thestraightening system of claim 1 wherein the tensioning member is anelongated steel rod.
 3. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein thethreaded portion of the adjustment mechanism is located within anelongated bore formed within the body of the adjustment mechanism. 4.The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the intermediate couplingmember is integrally formed with the tensioning member.
 5. Thestraightening system of claim 1 wherein the threaded portion of theintermediate coupling member is a cylindrical rod with external machinethreads.
 6. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the intermediatecoupling member is welded to the tensioning member.
 7. The straighteningsystem of claim 1, further comprising: a lower reaction plate having arecessed portion to receive the tensioning member.
 8. The straighteningsystem of claim 7 wherein the bottom plate is seated in a pocket offsetfrom a bottom edge surface of the door.
 9. The straightening system ofclaim 1 wherein the door includes a channel formed along a lengthwiseportion of the door and located between an interior surface and anexterior surface of the door, the channel extends from approximately thetop portion of the door downward toward a bottom edge surface of thedoor, the channel is sized to closely receive the tensioning member, theadjustment mechanism and the intermediate coupling member.
 10. Thestraightening system of claim 1, further comprising: an elongated insertextending from approximately the top portion of the door downward towarda bottom edge surface of the door, the elongated insert located betweenan interior surface and an exterior surface of the door, the insertsized to receive the tensioning member, the adjustment mechanism and theintermediate coupling member.
 11. The straightening system of claim 10wherein a top portion of the elongated insert is coupled to the upperreaction plate.
 12. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein thedesired angle of the reaction plate is in a range of about 1 degree to30 degrees relative to the horizontal surface of the door.
 13. Thestraightening system of claim 1 wherein the desired angle is about 3degrees relative to the horizontal surface of the door.
 14. Thestraightening system of claim 1 wherein the head of the adjustmentmechanism is received in a recess located in the upper reaction plate.15. A method of straightening a door using a door straightening system,the method comprising: rotating a first adjustment mechanism in a firstrotational direction to change an amount of tension in a first tensionmember; and while rotating, displacing a portion of the door to correctan amount of warping and sufficiently straighten the door.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising: rotating a second adjustmentmechanism in a second rotational direction to change an amount oftension in a second tension member.
 17. The method of claim 15 whereinrotating the first adjustment mechanism in the first rotationaldirection includes inserting a tool into a corresponding opening of thefirst adjustment mechanism.
 18. The method of claim 15 wherein rotatingthe first adjustment mechanism includes threading the adjustmentmechanism relative to a threaded end of an intermediate coupling memberthat is fixed to the tension member.
 19. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: reacting the amounts of tension in the first tension memberthrough upper and lower reaction plates coupled to the door.